NFL Unsportsmanlike Conduct Rule

With opening week of the NFL regular season here, and nearly every red-blooded American excited about the start of a new season, there is tension in the air around how calls will be made for celebrations. Referees are saying they have been charged with keeping a closer eye on how players celebrate, and cracking down on anything outside of the rules enacted before the 2012 season. The rules are so strict that players will be penalized for nearly every act of celebration, because the rules outline what is and isn't allowed as far as celebratory actions.

In a game where players play with such emotion, expecting them to not celebrate is ridiculous. A player gives all he has, fights to go up for a catch, runs fifty yards for a touchdown and then is expected not to celebrate. This is not second grade anymore. If the other team can't handle a little celebration, they need to rethink whether they are in the right profession. Maybe they should find a different sport. Maybe try golf where even the cheering is regulated.

If the celebration by the players is regulated, what's next? Will they give the cheerleaders silence signs, and the fans' cheering will be regulated? This is fostered by the fact that we teach our kids that everyone is a winner, and there are no losers.

I hate to break it to you, but in life there ARE winners and losers. In a game where there are two teams, someone has to win, and someone has to lose (except for hockey, where they allow ties BLEH!!!!). The sooner people learn that, the better off they will be. All that to say, the new enforcement of rules is ridiculous, and they should be repealed. The celebrations are part of what makes the game fun, and if players' feelings are going to get hurt, SUCK IT UP!!!